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Monday, March 4, 2013

Shopping with Style…

Now, I don’t have an aversion to plastic bags and don’t beat people over the head at the local grocery sore for using them… But, I like to be ‘green’ where I can. We recycle at the house (we are down to one bag of garbage a week), I take items home to recycle from the office… I reuse paper bags and even the plastic ones too (see this post about the Bag Wrangler). So to find a pattern for a ‘green’ produce bag… my curiosity was peaked..

These little produce bags are AWESOME! The question was, with my SUPER limited sewing skills would I be able to pull it off…
The post had been pinned to my craft project board for a few weeks, while I worked up the nerve to get the sewing machine out, then came an invite from a friend to participate in her Face Book coordinated homemade gift exchange in January! After getting paired up with a lovely retired teacher from Indiana, I just knew I had to make these for the exchange… and a few extras for myself too!

Each bag is made from a single fat quarter of fabric… So, off to the local Joann's to gaze at all of the quilting fabrics… There are so many great choices, but since my gifting partner stated that she liked modern and bright colors I chose some that I wouldn’t have normally selected. (the green one did grow on me… I might go back and pick one up to make another bag for myself!) I picked the red and black ones for our shopping adventures.

The pattern at the Daisy Janie site is very easy to follow and laid out very clearly. (Trust me, if I can follow it, it’s got to be SUPER easy!) I worked on the quarters that I had chosen for myself first… to work out any bugs I had and if I screwed it up… I wouldn’t have to start over on the gift exchange ones! Once I got the hang of it, it took about 45 minutes a bag. I made 5 for the exchange and 3 for myself… so it took the better part of a Saturday afternoon (good thing my husband works second shift!).

I’ve taken them on a few outings to the local Publix we like to shop at and the ladies at the check out think that the bags are adorable and one even asked for the pattern! We have put everything from asparagus to brussel sprouts in them with no problems or issues what so ever, so they are good for any produce! I'm looking forward to taking them along to the farmers market this summer!